Question
Hello Charlotte.

I hope you can help me.  We purchased our home in July '03 and have struggled to establish a decent lawn.  Last year we had a lawn service and they actually helped to give us some coverage and get rid of some weeds, but they are extremely costly.  Right now we do have some coverage, but there are alot of empty patches and for some reason it seems like a big truck drove over the lawn when it was wet and caused indentures throughout.  Also, because of the way the builder leveled the land we have one spot that just holds water (about 2'X 2',)and a little "river" that runs down the middle of our lawn when it rains and I can see rocks in the ground when it is dry.

First of all, how do I level the ground out without harming our already established lawn (should I use turfbuilder or topsoil)?

Second, if I use some type of turfbuilder or topsoil how do I compact it to keep it from washing away?

Thirdly, how do I fill in my lawn (rent a aerator and reseed)?

Lastly, when should I reseed, fertilize, etc.?

I live in PA and we do have alot of clay.  Will this be a problem?  Thank you so much for your help.  I look forward to hearing your advice.

Neisha

Answer
Hi Neisha;
It sounds like you really have some problems.
First, that clay is about the bigest one.
Clay is too tight for grass or anything but weeds to grow well in.
It sounds like a big job, but your best bet would be to start over.
You need to till in some amendments to loosen up that clay.
How much is hard to try to tell you without being to look  at your soil, myself.
I had really firm clay here, so I mixed 1 part humus, 1 part peat moss and 3 parts cedar bark mulch, and put that 4 inches deep all over my yard, then tilled it in to a depth of 8 inches. this made 1 part mix and 1 part existing soil.
That made it loose enough for good drainage.
You said rocks,,,, how big are the rocks?
If they are more than just pebbles, you may have rocks too big to run a tiller in without taring it up.
You may have a rock removal problem.
You can work with the rocks, and make rock gardens where they are the largest, piling up some of the ones you remove fro other areas of the lawn, and designing a lawn and garden around that.
If these are just rocks the size of pebbles, or no bigger than lemons, a commercial tiller should be able to handle them.
Builders don't put in good soil, they just build a house, and usually put in about an inch of topsoil to look like it is a good lawn. That is not deep enough to do anything, especially with cly underneath it. the water just washes the topsoil away. Water will not drain through clay well, and to have a good lawn, you need good drainage.

I would till it all up, till in amendments to make good, loose soil, and then seed or sod in a lawn.
Thay sounds like a lot of headache, but that would get you an established lawn this year, and you would not need to do more than a little in subsequent years to maintain a good, thick lawn.
Otherwise, you will just put a bandaid on it year after year.
That clay will continue to cause a problem for you.
The monthly lawn maintenance companys are very expensive and really don't do that much good.
you would be better off finding a yard man that will come in and till it up, and do the hard work for you, if you are needing help with that, and just do the work you need, as you need it.

You asked how to keep it from washing away. Do you have a sloped lawn?
If it is level, then the washing away is probably because the clay will not let water soak in, so the water is washing it away with it, as it drains off onto the street or alley.
If you are on a slope, the clay will make the washing of go faster too.If it is a gradual slope, and you till all that up, and then plant, you may have a little washing away, but it shouldn't be that much.
You can get a roller, and compact the soil some, but just watering it gently to compact it, and letting that soak in and watering again, will settle the soil a lot.
If you have a bad runoff problem because the soil is higher than the sidewalks, you may need to remove some soil before you till in the amendments, or build a retainlng wall. You may only have to build up a wall a foot high, maybe less.
Withour seeing your yard, it is hard to tell.
could you take some pictures of your yard, and the rocks, and all the problem area and send them to me?
If I could see some pictures, that might help me help yu.
If you want to do that, write me back, and i will give you my email to send picture to.
Charlotte